Fifth-season premiere of 'Lost,' airing Wednesday on ABC

By Verne Gay 21 January 2009

Newsday (MCT)

REASON TO WATCH: Fifth-season premiere

CATCHING UP: The island has disappeared, while the Oceanic Six plan their return, to save ... the universe?

THIS WEEK: In the first part, those who remained on the island are suddenly left to cope with what happened. There was that blinding flash, and then - seemingly - everything was back to normal. But the camp and everything there has disappeared, while Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) explains, somewhat helpfully: “Think of the island as a record spinning on a turntable, only now that record is skipping. Whatever Ben did at the Orchid station ...”

Allow me to finish your thought, Dan: Whatever Ben did was wack. The island may be in the past, or it may be in the future. No one is sure. Meanwhile, three years earlier, back to L.A., the O6 have decided to return to the island - all except Hurley (Jorge Garcia). They’ve got to get John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) back, too, yet (well) he’s dead, or maybe dead.

Wednesday night begins to piece together how he got in this predicament. In the second episode, Hurley and Sayid (Naveen Andrews) are on the run from the cops, and they end up back at Hurley’s house, where the son tells mom (Lillian Hurst), “Everything’s gonna make sense. I promise.”

Meanwhile, back on the island, those who remained come under attack from mysterious forces - maybe the Others, or even the Dharma Initiative, which means they’ve gone way back in time.

BOTTOM LINE: The return of a classic TV series - this one in particular - is cause for celebration, but this doesn’t mean what lies before fans or creators will be easy going. Enjoyable, perhaps, but not easy.

Wednesday night represents pig-in-the-python storytelling - there’s so much to work through, so many details, stories, characters and time dimensions to attend to, that after a while this all starts to feel like a very full meal. A bloated feeling may result. So, some advice: Don’t think. Turn off the brain. Let it all flow over you. Trust in “Lost.” The show’s creators know where this thing is going - right? - even if we don’t.